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CNN tags along on a Lunar New Year trek

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A migrant worker in China travels home to be with her family for the New Year

Zhou Xia and other migrants like her help to run Beijing, a city of more than 20 million

The New Year is often the only time these workers can see their families

In a cramped train carriage, Zhou tells of her hopes for her son, and the joy of going home

Zhou Xia walks briskly and with a certain purpose.

Carrying three small bags and layered up for the Beijing night, she weaves through traffic and over crowded pedestrian walkways. These are her first steps in a thousand-kilometer trip home to Anhui province.

Zhou is elated.

"I feel great, because I am going home," she says. "I only get home once a year or sometimes maybe twice. I want to go home to see my parents and children because I miss them."

Like many migrants, Zhou came to Beijing for the money. She works two jobs as a maid and her husband gets odd jobs as a foreman. Together they earn around $1,200 a month to support their extended family.

Photos:Gallery: Traveling to Hefei

Photos:Gallery: Traveling to Hefei

The long journey home – Zhou Xia, who works as a maid in Beijing, begins her 1,000 kilometer journey from the capital to her home in Anhui province for the Lunar New Year.

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Photos:Gallery: Traveling to Hefei

Leaving the capital – Beijing Railway Station is a hive of activity as people stream home for the Lunar New Year. More than 200 million rail trips are taken during the holiday period and often travelers aren't able to pre-book their seats.

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Photos:Gallery: Traveling to Hefei

Waiting to board – Zhou waits with hundreds of people crowding to get on the overnight T63 train to Hefei. While China has a growing network of high-speed trains, the T63 is old rolling stock and travels at a slower pace.

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Photos:Gallery: Traveling to Hefei

Any tickets? – Many people weren't able to get tickets all the way home, so many book just to the first stop and then hope they won't get thrown off. Conductors usually allow them to get standing room tickets and distribute them through the train.

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Photos:Gallery: Traveling to Hefei

'Rich or poor, home for the holiday' – Conductors register passengers.

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Photos:Gallery: Traveling to Hefei

The lucky few – If you can get them, the tiered sleeping section is popular among passengers, the online ticketing opens 20 days before each trip and often people get friends and relatives to try book for them. But it is more like a lottery.

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Photos:Gallery: Traveling to Hefei

Connecting people – A conductor waits for oncoming passengers in Tianjin.

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Photos:Gallery: Traveling to Hefei

A happy wait – Zhou is moved near the washrooms for the ten hour journey. But she doesn't mind, she says, because she finally gets to see her children.

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Photos:Gallery: Traveling to Hefei

Part of the family – CNN's David McKenzie and Dayu Zhang (back right) with Zhou (right) and her family in Hefei.

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Photos:Lunar New Year: Tales from Beijing Railway Station

Photos:Lunar New Year: Tales from Beijing Railway Station

Lunar New Year: Tales from a Beijing train station – Billions of journeys are made every year in China during the Lunar New Year period, as people flock home to celebrate and catch up with family members. Here are just a few of those travelers, picked from one of the busiest train stations in China. We'll start with Zhao Jianwen (L) and Gao Zaili (R), who are traveling back to Yuncheng, Shanxi province, with bags full of sausages from the meat factory they worked at over the past two years in Beijing.

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Photos:Lunar New Year: Tales from Beijing Railway Station

Six years and home – Married couple Wang Zhiyuan (R) and Wang Chenyang (L) from Baicheng, Jilin province, came to Beijing six years ago. Wang first studied in medical school and now works in a hospital's pharmacy in Chaoyang district. His wife sells massage machines.

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Photos:Lunar New Year: Tales from Beijing Railway Station

Return to Mongolia – Li Canming (R) and Liu Shuxia (L) have lived in Beijing for 12 years. They're going back to Baotou, Inner Mongolia for Chinese New Year with their parents (center) and two children. The husband works in a factory making disposable tableware, while his wife does research for oilfields. Li is holding their 11-year-old daughter and Liu is holding their one-year-old son.

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Photos:Lunar New Year: Tales from Beijing Railway Station

Just passing through – Meng Fanjun, 63, has for six years sold a local food specialty in a small town to the south of Beijing, Hebei province, called Baigou. He is passing through the capital to transfer to another train to go home to Haicheng, Liaoning province.

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Photos:Lunar New Year: Tales from Beijing Railway Station

New family, new home, New Year – Mr. Ma holds his 14-month-old daughter with his wife. He works in an IT company providing online training courses. After five years of saving, Ma recently bought a new home near Beijing and will move in after the New Year.

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Photos:Lunar New Year: Tales from Beijing Railway Station

Wutai homecoming – Zhang Mengfei and his friends came to Beijing three years ago from the sacred Buddhist site of Mount Wutai in Shanxi province. They work in a barber shop and beauty salon and will return there after the New Year.

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Photos:Lunar New Year: Tales from Beijing Railway Station

Pack light? Yeah right – (L to R) Tang Zhiyuan, 61, Tang Zhongliang, 58, and Ding Wendong, 32, came to Beijing a year ago from Haicheng, Liaoning province. They work in logistics. Mr. Ding's bag is full of new clothes he bought for his family members. Mr. Tang, balancing a huge bag on his shoulder, bought some Beijing roast duck for the New Year's Eve dinner.

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Photos:Lunar New Year: Tales from Beijing Railway Station

Watery return – Cai Dongping (R) came to Beijing from Southern China's watery city of Shaoxing in Zhejiang province six years ago. He works in a factory assembling home electronic devices. Cai's wife is holding their three-year-old child and his mother accompanies them.

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Photos:Lunar New Year: Tales from Beijing Railway Station

Painterly prognosis – Zhai Xixi (R) and her friends are sophomore students at China Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. The 20-year-olds hope to be painters. They're returning to Linfen in Shanxi province.

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Photos:Lunar New Year: Tales from Beijing Railway Station

Family reunion – Li Hangyu (center) with his five-year-old son, his wife and sister. For the last four years they have run a small business in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province.

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Photos:Lunar New Year: Tales from Beijing Railway Station

Not everyone travels – Du Shuxiang (L), 46, came to Beijing from Heilongjiang province three years ago. She works in a pickle factory. She is accompanied by Wang Zhiyou, a sanitation worker who came to Beijing seven years ago from the same town in Heilongjiang province as Du. Wang will wait to go home after New Year's Eve as he couldn't get a ticket to travel in advance.

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Photos:Lunar New Year: Tales from Beijing Railway Station

Fashionable traveler – Stylish 25-year-old Li He is in the wardrobe wholesale business. Originally from Harbin, Li came to Beijing two years ago.

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Photos:Lunar New Year: Tales from Beijing Railway Station

A decade on – Wang Xia (L), 30, and Xie Guangxia (R), 28 are sales workers in a garment shopping mall. They've been working in Beijing since they left Anhui province 10 years ago.

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Photos:Lunar New Year: Tales from Beijing Railway Station

Mother's 12-hour shift – Xu Mei, a 43-year-old mother from Rizhao, Shandong province, is a part-time restaurant worker in Beijing. She might not travel for New Year again next year, as her daughter is taking college entrance exams and they hope to spend more time together during that critical year. She bought a pink Hero pen and an English Text book as New Year gifts for her daughter and says Communication University of China is her daughter's dream school. Her standing-only ticket means she will spend the 12-hour journey home on her feet.

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JUST WATCHED

The beloved traditions of Lunar New Year

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The beloved traditions of Lunar New Year03:53

Photos:Photos: Lunar New Year 2014

Photos:Photos: Lunar New Year 2014

Lunar New Year 2014 – A worshipper burns incense at a temple in Beijing on Tuesday, February 4. Millions of people around the world, predominantly those of Chinese descent, are ushering in the Year of the Horse during Lunar New Year celebrations.

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Photos:Photos: Lunar New Year 2014

Lunar New Year 2014 – A performer peeks through a door before the start of a ritual at a temple in Beijing on February 4.

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Photos:Photos: Lunar New Year 2014

Lunar New Year 2014 – A dragon dance troupe performs during a Lunar New Year celebration in Beijing on Monday, February 3.

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Photos:Photos: Lunar New Year 2014

Lunar New Year 2014 – People release sky lanterns to celebrating the Lunar New Year in New Taipei City, Taiwan, on February 3.

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Photos:Photos: Lunar New Year 2014

Lunar New Year 2014 – Fireworks explode around a dragon puppet during a performance in Beijing on February 3.

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Photos:Photos: Lunar New Year 2014

Lunar New Year 2014 – People from Dong Ky, Vietnam, perform a ritual during the village's traditional firecracker festival on February 3.

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Photos:Photos: Lunar New Year 2014

Lunar New Year 2014 – Dancers dressed as horses prepare for a Lunar New Year parade in Sydney on Sunday, February 2.

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Lunar New Year 2014 – Performers in New York City march in the Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade and Festival on February 2.

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Lunar New Year 2014 – Smoke from burning incense sticks surrounds people as they mark the third day of the Lunar New Year at Che Kung Temple in Hong Kong on February 2.

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Photos:Photos: Lunar New Year 2014

Lunar New Year 2014 – People gather in the streets of Paris to celebrate Lunar New Year on February 2.

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Photos:Photos: Lunar New Year 2014

Lunar New Year 2014 – Children participate in a parade in the Chinatown neighborhood of New York City on February 2.

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Photos:Photos: Lunar New Year 2014

Lunar New Year 2014 – People try to touch a dragon puppet during a parade in Buenos Aires on Saturday, February 1.

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Photos:Photos: Lunar New Year 2014

Lunar New Year 2014 – People play on an iced lake covered with artificial snow at Longtan Park in Beijing on February 1.

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Lunar New Year 2014 – A man prays as he burns incense on the first day of the Lunar New Year at the Dongyue Taoist temple in Beijing on Friday, January 31.

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Photos:Photos: Lunar New Year 2014

Lunar New Year 2014 – Performers take part in a parade in Hong Kong.

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Photos:Photos: Lunar New Year 2014

Lunar New Year 2014 – A performer slings fire during a parade in Hong Kong.

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Photos:Photos: Lunar New Year 2014

Lunar New Year 2014 – A woman holds incense sticks as she attends prayers at Bun San Bio Temple in Tangerang, Indonesia, on January 31.

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Lunar New Year 2014 – A man jumps over exploding firecrackers during celebrations in Kolkata, India, on January 31.

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Lunar New Year 2014 – Worshippers burn incense as they pray for health and fortune at Yonghegong Lama Temple in Beijing on January 31.

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Photos:Photos: Lunar New Year 2014

Lunar New Year 2014 – A woman prays at a temple in Ampang, Malaysia, on January 31.

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Lunar New Year 2014 – Visitors at the Dongyue Temple touch the White Jade Horse statue in the hope that it will bring them prosperity and good fortune in the Year of the Horse.

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Photos:Photos: Lunar New Year 2014

Lunar New Year 2014 – A fire eater performs in the Chinatown district of Manila, Philippines, on January 31.

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Lunar New Year 2014 – People play a traditional folk game during Lunar New Year celebrations at Namsangol Hanok village in Seoul, South Korea, on January 31.

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Photos:Photos: Lunar New Year 2014

Lunar New Year 2014 – A woman holding incense prays at the Yonghegong Lama Temple. In China, the festivities are also known as the spring festival.

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Lunar New Year 2014 – A crowd of people prays for good fortune outside the Yonghegong Lama Temple.

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Lunar New Year 2014 – A monk stands at the entrance to the Yonghegong Lama Temple as people pray on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

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Photos:Photos: Lunar New Year 2014

Lunar New Year 2014 – Fireworks light up the sky to mark the Lunar New Year late on January 30 in Changsha, the capital of central China's Hunan province.

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Lunar New Year 2014 – People in Hong Kong burn incense and pray at the Wong Tai Sin Temple on January 30.

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Lunar New Year 2014 – Actors perform on stage during the Beauty of China Opera show at the Pakuwon Ballroom in Surabaya, Indonesia, on January 30. Chinese opera, a tradition dating back more than 500 years, is performed as part of Lunar New Year celebrations.

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Photos:Photos: Lunar New Year 2014

Lunar New Year 2014 – Chinese police prepare to provide security at a Lunar New Year ceremony at Ditan Park in Beijing on January 30.

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Photos:Photos: Lunar New Year 2014

Lunar New Year 2014 – Soldiers dressed in imperial costumes perform an ancient ceremony at Ditan Park on January 30, the day before the Lunar New Year in China.

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"I don't really like Beijing," she says. Her life here is crowded and the work is constant. But opportunities to earn in China have drained from the countryside into the cities.

And migrants are everywhere in Beijing's sprawl. They clean homes, run fruit stands on wheeled carts, make crispy pancakes on gas fires for the breakfast rush, clean garbage off the streets and clip hedges by hand. They help run this city of more than 20 million.

During the Lunar New Year, they post handwritten signs on their shops, receive red "Hong Bao" envelops stuffed with bonuses, and leave in their millions. Many Beijingers don't notice them until they are gone.

Zhou joins the throngs milling outside Beijing Railway Station, an imposing Maoist and Soviet-style landmark. Everywhere migrants sit on stools and buckets surrounded by their luggage, puffing on cigarettes in the cold.

"I bet you haven't experienced anything like this before," says Zhou as we jam through the bottleneck to board. We're stuck right in the middle of giant swathe of humanity.

A muffled announcement, a shove forward, a half step backwards, then we shuffle forward all together. "Don't push me," shouts one man as he gets a duffle bag shoved against his head.

China has built up an impressive network of high-speed trains. But not the 8 p.m T63 to Hefei. She's a stately string of carriages in bold blue, red and white, designed for comfort, not for speed. Even that is compromised during Lunar New Year.

Chinese take more than three billion trips during this period, more than 200 million by rail, so just getting a ticket is a bit like winning the lottery.

Tickets online to Hefei sold out in seconds, says Zhou, so she bought one to the first stop in Tianjin, hoping the conductors wouldn't throw them off in this time of goodwill.

"Any pregnant women, young children, or elderly in this carriage," says the lead conductor, in a sharp navy blue uniform with officer-style cap as the T63 clatters out of the station.

It appears nobody in our carriage could get a ticket beyond Tianjin. So the conductors register us to be distributed through the train. Some get sleepers in three-tiered bunks; others jam in where they can.

There is a saying in China: "Rich or poor; get home for the holiday" ( 有钱没钱，回家过年). It has become a bit of a cliché. But for Chinese, and Chinese migrants in particular, going home for the Lunar New Year, or Spring, festival is near mandatory and often the only time of the year they can be with their families.

"I really do miss my children," says Zhou. "It's not like we are separated by a month or two, it's for a whole year. That is a long time and there is such a huge distance between us."

Her father's generation worked the fields near their village, but pollution and urbanization made farming untenable. Zhou missed out on an education, so she works doggedly to support the whole family. Her daughter works at an appliance factory. But her son is in university studying physics.

He is their big hope.

"His tuition costs thousands and we have to pay," says Zhou. "But I am full of hope he will graduate and find a good job with a steady income and he will contribute to the family. Everything we do is for our children and our family."

Migrant families are full of these sorts of burdens and dreams. So, for many, ten hours in a crowded train is no real hardship at all.

Others on the train, like Mr. Fan, who runs a breakfast stand in Beijing, are also happy to suffer the cramped conditions.

"We go home once a year to see my kids and my parents. This travel is nothing to me. I am totally content," he says.

Around him people sleep on the carriage floor, others pack in three abreast in standing room. They eat, try to sleep and play Shengji, a popular Chinese card game.

"Only eight minutes to go," says Zhou in the pre-dawn gloom as we approach Hefei. "I am feeling great, but I am sure you are tired."

Soon there will be the reunion, the meals, the fireworks. Gossiping with friends and seeing family.

But Zhou has only one thought.

"Every year when I get near my home I feel so happy. But going back is so hard. I feel so sad then that every time I cry."